Tablet-file case.



No. 668,582. Patented Feb; |'9,19o|.

c. E. MccLmTocK.

TABLESI' FILE CASE.-

(Application Bled Aug. 11, 1897. Renewed July 20, 1900.)

zoV

UNTTED STATES y PATENT Fries.

CHARLES E. MCCLINTOCK, OF POPLAR BLUFF, MISSOURI.

TABLET-'FILE CAS E.

SPECIFICATION forming-part of Letters Patent No. 668,582, dated February19, 1901'.

Application filed August 1l, 1897. Renewed July 20, 1900. ieral No.24,331. dio model.)

To rl/ZZ whom, it muy concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. MOULIN- TOCK, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Poplar Bluff, in the county of Butler and State ofMissouri, have invented a new and useful Tablet-File Case, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to tablet-file cases especially designed for usein connectionwith abstracts of deeds aecting real property, the objectbeing to improve the construction of the file drawers or receptacles,andV of the frame in which they are supported, the series offile-drawers being arranged in such manner that boundary-lines may beindicated on or by such series to correspond in general outline andrelative location withthe outlines of the county, city, and othersimilar divisions of land to which the abstracts in the drawers includedwithin the boundary-line formed by or on them relate.

The invention will be fully described'hereinafter and then particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a section of 'afile-case, some of the receptacles being omitted. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of one of the guides and supports for the filereceptacles or drawers. Fig.

3 is a section through a portion of one of the vertical strips, showingthe manner of connecting the guides thereto. Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of one of the file receptacles or drawers.

Similar reference-numerals indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

In reducing my invention to practice I have found it expedient to employa plurality of receptacles or les,such as drawers or their equivalents,divided by suitable boundaries, such as distinguishable lines to formgeneral or main groups, divisions, or ranges representing generaldivisions or ranges or tracts.

of land, and subdividing these general divisions to form minor groups ofreceptacles representing the minor divisions of land-such as townships,&c.-the relative positions of the divisions and subdivisions of thefile-case corresponding with the respective parcels, tracts, or grantsof land represented, and each receptacle or file representing astillsmaller portion of one of Ihesubdivisions and corresponding Withindividual holdings, dto.

lIn -the drawings the case represented is made up of a series ofsections, (indicated by the numeral 1,) the joints between which arecovered by strips 2. Each section is designed to contain a series offile-receptacles, such as drawers 4, and is made up of a front frameconsisting of vertical and horizontal strips (indicated by 5 and 6,respectively) jointed together in any suitable manner to formcompartments 3 of the desired size. The back of each section'ispreferably solid, as indicated by 7, and to this solid back is secured aseries of vertical strips 8, which are respectively opposite thevertical strips 5 of the front frame. Each of these vertical strips 5and 8 is pro- -vided with a series of horizontal saw cuts or kerfs 9 atequal distances apart and preferably extending about half-way throughthe strips. These cuts or kerfs are to receive the ends of guides 10 onwhich the file-drawers 4 are mounted. These guides are made of strips ofsheet metal, preferably tin, and are formed by bending the striplongitudinally upon itself from opposite sides and then bending aportion of each of the folds back againat a right angle to formsupporting-ways 11 of a double thickness of metal, the vertical iianges12 of a single thickness of metal, and the horizontal intermediateconnecting part 13 also of a single thickness of metal. The part 13 tsat its opposite ends in horizontal alining cuts 9 in the vertical strips5 and 8, and the vertical flanges 12 are secured by nails 14.01' similarfastening devices to the opposite faces of the said vertical strips.These metal guides serve to braceand stiffen the frame, and there ispractically no loss of space occasioned by'their use.

The file-drawer 4 consists'of a heavy strip of cardboard or some similarstiff and light material and the vertical front wall 16 preferably ofwood. The cardboard bottom 15 of the drawer is supported on the ways11,*while the front wall 16, which is secured to the front end of thecardboard bottom, closes the front open space between the adjacent pairsof guides and is of such thickness that its outer faces will be iushwith the vertical strips 5 when its inner face is in engagement with IOOthe front ends of the guides l0. At the rear right-hand corner of eachdrawer is provided a tablet-securing device or fastener 1'7, which maybe an ordinary pa1'ier-fastener, as shown, or any approved form of clipadapted to engage and secure the lower or rear right-hand corners of thetablet-leaves 1S to the cardboard. These tablet-leaves are of differentprinted forms adapt-ed for use in making short abstracts of variouskinds of deeds affecting property, and when the abstract is made it issecured in the file-drawer where it properly belongs and a person caneasily and quickly turn over the several leaves in the drawer and findont the condition of the title of the property to which the deedrelates. Each of the drawer-fronts I6 is provided with a handle lf) tofacilitate removing it from the case. By using the different printedforms of blanks for the abstracts lnnch time is also saved in the makingof the deeds, and as soon as the abstract of the deed is made it is putin its proper tile-drawer and secured in place by the clamp 17, and thelast abstract will be placed on top itis obvious that the abstracts willbe in chronological order.

Various other advantages of the described tilecase will be obvious, andit is to be understood that changes in the form, proportion, and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim isl. A frame for file-cases, consisting of an open-frontframe made of a series of vertical and horizontal strips jointedtogether, a solid back, a series of vertical strips secured to saidsolid back opposite the vertical strips of the front frame, said frontand rear vertical strips having a series of horizontal cuts formedtherein, and a series of tnetal guides supported at their opposite endsin said cuts, and having vertical portions embracing the sides of thestrips and secured thereto, substantially as described.

2. 'lhe combination with spaced vertical strips each havinga transversecut, of a guide formed from a strip of metal bent to form asupportingway of a double thickness of metal, a vertical flange of asingle thickness of metal adapted to be secured to the said verticalstrips, and a horizontal portion 0f a single thickness of metal to titat its opposite ends into the cuts in the vertical strips, substantiallyas described.

The combination with a series of front and rear vertical strips eachhaving,r a series of horizontal cuts in its face, the said cuts facingeach other, of a series of guides formed from the strips of metal, toform a supporting-way of two thicknesses of metal at opposite sides, andtwo vertical anges adapted to be secured to the opposite sides of thevertical strips, and an intermediate connecting part adapted to (it atits opposite ends into the cuts in said strips, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 1n y own I have heretoaffixed my signatn re in the presence of two witnesses.

C.E. MCCLINTOGK. Witnesses:

HENRY H. RIBBELL, T. A. WHITTEN.

